Jews in So. Morocco Prohibited to Sell Their Property; Six Arrested

December 26, 1961

CASABLANCA (Dec. 25)

Moroccan authorities in the southern part of the country are prohibiting the sale of property by Jews who wish to leave their towns, it was reported here today. In Essaouira, leaflets are being distributed urging local Moslems to refrain from purchasing houses or any other property from Jews leaving the town.

At the same time, five Jews were arrested today in the southern Moroccan region of Ksar es-Souk on charges of “Zionist activities” and of allegedly helping Jews to leave the country for emigration to Israel. A sixth Jew, Sion Elkoubi, had been arrested earlier on similar charges, and is still in jail pending trial. The five arrested were identified as Toubly, Berkiki, Nejjar, Ichou and Meir Anna.

A Moroccan court of appeals in Tangiers will hand down a judgment next month in the case of Captain Morilas Reinardo, skipper of the vessel “Price,” in which 42 Jews were drowned last January when the ship sank off the Moroccan coast. Reinardo was sentenced to four years and two months’ imprisonment after he was convicted by a lower court of manslaughter through negligence; Appeals by two other crew members of the ship, Sanchez and Castroman, who were sentenced to one year each, were rejected, and their sentences were confirmed.

During the interrogation by the appeals court, Reinardo testified that a sudden gale had hit the ship and flooded the hull. He said the ship sank within a few minutes. He admitted that he had abandoned the ship while it was sinking. Reinardo’s attorney, a Jew identified as Zaoui, pleaded that the court was incompetent to try the case. The Moroccan Attorney General has demanded the maximum penalty provided by law. The appeals court is composed entirely of Moslem judges.